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larry_yonce's review against another edition
3.0
Maiden House
Thrilling and uplifting rescue mission with a good team: Captain Marvel, Mantis, Ant-Man, Hepzibah, and Amadeus Cho. The villains are truly nefarious. The character arc of Rhi was particularly well done.
Thrilling and uplifting rescue mission with a good team: Captain Marvel, Mantis, Ant-Man, Hepzibah, and Amadeus Cho. The villains are truly nefarious. The character arc of Rhi was particularly well done.
captwinghead's review
2.0
Hard one to rate as I am aware that I've outgrown stories with shallow representation of female empowerment. This was not only a story with very little representation of people of color, but it was a little too after school special-y regarding issues of misogyny. Add to that, this novel gave me a similar feeling to when I stumble across y/n self insert fanfic. This was overall a story that was not for me in any way shape or form. However, a teenage white queer girl might like it.
This story centers an alien refugee, Rhi, who crash lands on earth fleeing a stereotypical patriarchal hellhole. Complete with a literal comparison to the Handmaid's Tale, this representation of a society where women are seen, not heard, and set to be used as broodmares, it's hard reading this as a black queer woman living in TX. I'm reminded of the sudden realization BookTok had that a lot of these dystopian, misogynistic portrayals in stories are just privileged people writing things that actually still happen to women of color today. So, forgive me if this wasn't as moving a story as it may have been for others.
Anyway, the cast of characters consists of Carol, Scott Lang, Mantis (the best character in the story), Amadeus Cho, and a character I'd never heard of, Hepzibah. They team up to go to Rhi's home planet and rescue the other girls in captivity.
Barring me having outgrown white feminist books ages ago, purely judging this book on whether I thought it accomplished its goal: I think it made a pretty good attempt. It's clearly meant for a younger teenage audience, it's got a queer character in a prominent role, and there's enough moments of misogynists getting their just desserts for teen girls to find this satisfying, I think.
There were some moments that made me tilt my head. It takes 95 pages for Carol to even mention her own privilege - and it was 1 line. The scene where she's reunited with a set of dog tags was baffling as, unless I understood Rhi's ability incorrectly, that shouldn't have been possible. There's a moment where Mantis, in the bare bones mention of past discrimination against women of color, says it took a long time before "We" gave women the vote. Confusing, as I was pretty sure Mantis wasn't American and would not have been in the demographic responsible for that oppression. Baffling.
Anyway, again, I think white teenage girls would enjoy this. There's about a 50/50 split in POV with Rhi, so it felt like a fic about someone's Original Female Character. This book made it even more apparent to me that I may have outgrown Carol Danvers stories. I've certainly outgrown stories of female empowerment starring white female characters.
This story centers an alien refugee, Rhi, who crash lands on earth fleeing a stereotypical patriarchal hellhole. Complete with a literal comparison to the Handmaid's Tale, this representation of a society where women are seen, not heard, and set to be used as broodmares, it's hard reading this as a black queer woman living in TX. I'm reminded of the sudden realization BookTok had that a lot of these dystopian, misogynistic portrayals in stories are just privileged people writing things that actually still happen to women of color today. So, forgive me if this wasn't as moving a story as it may have been for others.
Anyway, the cast of characters consists of Carol, Scott Lang, Mantis (the best character in the story), Amadeus Cho, and a character I'd never heard of, Hepzibah. They team up to go to Rhi's home planet and rescue the other girls in captivity.
Barring me having outgrown white feminist books ages ago, purely judging this book on whether I thought it accomplished its goal: I think it made a pretty good attempt. It's clearly meant for a younger teenage audience, it's got a queer character in a prominent role, and there's enough moments of misogynists getting their just desserts for teen girls to find this satisfying, I think.
There were some moments that made me tilt my head. It takes 95 pages for Carol to even mention her own privilege - and it was 1 line. The scene where she's reunited with a set of dog tags was baffling as, unless I understood Rhi's ability incorrectly, that shouldn't have been possible. There's a moment where Mantis, in the bare bones mention of past discrimination against women of color, says it took a long time before "We" gave women the vote. Confusing, as I was pretty sure Mantis wasn't American and would not have been in the demographic responsible for that oppression. Baffling.
Anyway, again, I think white teenage girls would enjoy this. There's about a 50/50 split in POV with Rhi, so it felt like a fic about someone's Original Female Character. This book made it even more apparent to me that I may have outgrown Carol Danvers stories. I've certainly outgrown stories of female empowerment starring white female characters.
rmpiano's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Very cathartic, reading about Captain Marvel and her team defeating an entire planet's worth of patriarchal systems
iceprime5's review against another edition
5.0
Content warnings: imprisonment, suggested sexual assault, execution of parents in front of kids
Talk about an empowering novel! Carol (aka Captain Marvel) is on leave when an alien spacecraft appears through a rip in space and heads straight for a crash landing. She stops the craft and tosses it in the river to deal with the flames. When a girl appears through the hatch asking “Did I find you? Are you her?” Carol has no idea what she’s talking about. She decides to oversee the survivor’s treatment and takes her to their headquarters.
There she learns the girl’s name, Rhi, and her story. Rhi was part of the Inhuman group that left New Attila for a new world where they could live by their beliefs. However, they stumbled upon a planet where men fear women with powers and they either killed or imprisoned the Inhumans. The girls with power were locked away and brainwashed into believing their only worth was to whichever male they were given. Rhi said the girls always reminded each other that they were strong so they couldn’t be brainwashed, but she had to go back to save them.
Carol is horrified by what she hears and agrees to help Rhi. She recruits Mantis, Ant-man, and Amadeus Cho to take Rhi back and liberate her family. Their focus is rescuing Rhi’s brother (Zeke), Zeke’s girlfriend (Atela, who’s pregnant), and Rhi’s girlfriend (Umbra). Rhi also wants to save all the Inhuman girls from the Maiden Houses. They form a plan on the way and immediately run into trouble upon arriving near the planet. Luckily, a last-minute call made by Carol is answered and help arrives from a friend. They survive to adjust their plan, but their plans never go as planned.
Rhi is a great character who, despite the odds, always rises. They try so hard to “put her in her place” but she always fights back, from stealing the president’s ship to hiding her real power from them. She’s focused on saving just the Inhuman girls and her brother, but she’s presented with new information and questions if it’ll be enough with the entire culture of the planet suppressing all women. She also struggles seeing somebody like Carol, a powerful woman with powers, openly use her powers and lead others, including men.
Carol struggles when they reach the planet and her ability to fly is taken because of a suppression weapon on the planet. She's grounded for the mission so she has to improvise. Ant-man can’t use his powers for long, and Amadeus can’t change into Brawn. This changes how they can execute their plans.
It was inspiring how the girls fought against the brainwashing and how they looked out for each other, especially the younger ones who didn't remember arriving on the planet. They all lost so much. The parents who weren’t willing to separate from their daughters were murdered, while they all watched. They could have blamed Rhi for bringing them to the planet (she’s the one who found it), but they don’t. Rhi blames herself for everything, but she learns to accept what has happened and make things better in the future.
The banter between the characters was fun and helped between the action and tense scenes. I enjoyed the team and how they interacted with each other. They trusted when others called them out (especially pointing out how Carol likes to rush in but doing so would jeopardize their ability to sneak into each section and free their targets).
There are so many valuable lessons in this book. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of Captain Marvel.
Talk about an empowering novel! Carol (aka Captain Marvel) is on leave when an alien spacecraft appears through a rip in space and heads straight for a crash landing. She stops the craft and tosses it in the river to deal with the flames. When a girl appears through the hatch asking “Did I find you? Are you her?” Carol has no idea what she’s talking about. She decides to oversee the survivor’s treatment and takes her to their headquarters.
There she learns the girl’s name, Rhi, and her story. Rhi was part of the Inhuman group that left New Attila for a new world where they could live by their beliefs. However, they stumbled upon a planet where men fear women with powers and they either killed or imprisoned the Inhumans. The girls with power were locked away and brainwashed into believing their only worth was to whichever male they were given. Rhi said the girls always reminded each other that they were strong so they couldn’t be brainwashed, but she had to go back to save them.
Carol is horrified by what she hears and agrees to help Rhi. She recruits Mantis, Ant-man, and Amadeus Cho to take Rhi back and liberate her family. Their focus is rescuing Rhi’s brother (Zeke), Zeke’s girlfriend (Atela, who’s pregnant), and Rhi’s girlfriend (Umbra). Rhi also wants to save all the Inhuman girls from the Maiden Houses. They form a plan on the way and immediately run into trouble upon arriving near the planet. Luckily, a last-minute call made by Carol is answered and help arrives from a friend. They survive to adjust their plan, but their plans never go as planned.
Rhi is a great character who, despite the odds, always rises. They try so hard to “put her in her place” but she always fights back, from stealing the president’s ship to hiding her real power from them. She’s focused on saving just the Inhuman girls and her brother, but she’s presented with new information and questions if it’ll be enough with the entire culture of the planet suppressing all women. She also struggles seeing somebody like Carol, a powerful woman with powers, openly use her powers and lead others, including men.
Carol struggles when they reach the planet and her ability to fly is taken because of a suppression weapon on the planet. She's grounded for the mission so she has to improvise. Ant-man can’t use his powers for long, and Amadeus can’t change into Brawn. This changes how they can execute their plans.
It was inspiring how the girls fought against the brainwashing and how they looked out for each other, especially the younger ones who didn't remember arriving on the planet. They all lost so much. The parents who weren’t willing to separate from their daughters were murdered, while they all watched. They could have blamed Rhi for bringing them to the planet (she’s the one who found it), but they don’t. Rhi blames herself for everything, but she learns to accept what has happened and make things better in the future.
The banter between the characters was fun and helped between the action and tense scenes. I enjoyed the team and how they interacted with each other. They trusted when others called them out (especially pointing out how Carol likes to rush in but doing so would jeopardize their ability to sneak into each section and free their targets).
There are so many valuable lessons in this book. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of Captain Marvel.
linz's review
5.0
After my last brush with an Avengers-themed novelization, I was almost scared to pick this one up. My love of Captain Marvel won out in the end, however, plus this one has a different author. Am I glad I gave it a chance? Without a doubt!
It was well-written and action-packed, with excellent pacing and an important point to make, and I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of Ant-Man and Mantis!
At its core, it's a fight against misogyny and the patriarchy, but it's never too heavy-handed, and it's consistently entertaining.
I loved the author's writing style, and I'm definitely going to check out more of her works.
Inspiring, important, and wildly entertaining, I think this is one that everyone can enjoy, regardless of whether they're usually into superheroes and comic book stories or not.
It was well-written and action-packed, with excellent pacing and an important point to make, and I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of Ant-Man and Mantis!
At its core, it's a fight against misogyny and the patriarchy, but it's never too heavy-handed, and it's consistently entertaining.
I loved the author's writing style, and I'm definitely going to check out more of her works.
Inspiring, important, and wildly entertaining, I think this is one that everyone can enjoy, regardless of whether they're usually into superheroes and comic book stories or not.
renatasnacks's review
5.0
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. It's such a smart use of Carol's character and such a timely callout of rape culture while also being an awesome space rebellion story (with a queer alien love story at its heart). AND PLUS ALSO Scott Lang reads Roxane Gay and Sweet Valley High soooo one million stars.
theuncannydani's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Handmaid's Tale but in space.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Slavery, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death and Domestic abuse
lizbethandthelifeinbetween's review against another edition
3.0
The writing was good, but I didn't like the story. This doesn't feel like a stand a lone; I felt like I'd been thrown into the middle of a series which made it even harder to keel all the characters straight.
I love the author but the plot, which was probably dictated to her, felt flat and overdone and predictable. I do like book Carol more then movie Carol.
I think it is now safe to assume marvel novels aren't for me. I standing on 1/5 that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I love the author but the plot, which was probably dictated to her, felt flat and overdone and predictable. I do like book Carol more then movie Carol.
I think it is now safe to assume marvel novels aren't for me. I standing on 1/5 that I thoroughly enjoyed.